China expressed serious concern over Taiwan’s presence at the annual Pacific Islands Forum in Palau and said there could be consequences. A Taiwanese delegation took part in the forum’s opening ceremony on August 31.
As Channel NewsAsia reports, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, Qian Bo, told journalists that Taiwan’s participation in the event was inappropriate. He did not specify what the consequences could be and stressed that his words were not a threat.
Taiwan’s status at the forum
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung received invitations to meetings and related events held alongside the forum. Taiwan does not have official dialogue partner status at the Pacific Islands Forum, unlike China, but is a development partner. The United States and Japan also have dialogue partner status.
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Palau is an archipelago of more than 500 islands that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan. According to the source, Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are the Pacific island states that retain official diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Absence of some leaders
The leaders of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati did not attend the meeting of the 18-member group. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said he viewed the number of absent leaders with suspicion.
At the same time, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong noted that leaders make their own decisions about travel and may have different reasons for not attending. She added that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who arrived at the forum, plans to meet with his counterparts.
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